Steven Slate VSX Headphone

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$479 in US at the moment.
Most likely in Europe with VAT it will be slightly more than €500. This is expensive.
If it was around €250~260... maybe would consider.

For the time being a decent headphones supported by Sonarworks Reference + custom IRs (studio, car, room, theatre) + Foobar (with Dolby Headphone 'dolbyhph.dll' DSP plugin for binaural simulation) should be fine. Definitely cheaper than $479.

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Disclaimer: I got to test VSX and thus got a pair for my trouble, take that as you may.

It's also worth noting that I was one of those people Slate asked to test the headphones as he knows I'm a straight talker and a skeptic. He isn't a guy who surrounds himself with "yes!" men. That is definitely clear.. and I didn't give the developers an easy time, as is usually the case. :hihi:

I've had over 2000$ worth of headphones in my past 10 years due to being 100% convinced that headphone mixing/mastering is going to be the future. It's only a matter of personal dedication in learning a system that is the only real hindrance.. like with any critical listening skill training. Thus I've spent quite a lot on getting a good working system. My main headphone go-to chain at home (where I use headphones 100% of the time and do quite a bit of work) was up until VSX this:

RME Babyface Pro -> AKG K701 (original Austrian version) -> Toneboosters Morphit with some custom tweaks -> Goodhertz CanOpener. Been pretty happy with this for the past few years.

Having said that, the Slate VSX headphone system/combination is by far the easiest to use, in terms of translation of mixes, that I've used so far. Not exactly sure what technology he is using but it doesn't seem to be just impulses. First of all, the plugin takes very little CPU power and there is zero latency. 2nd, there is a "depth" control that sort of gently morphs the response of the room. It's more like impulse + some universal HRTF + cross mixing stuff all going on at once. Some kind of hybrid system. 3rd, the actual headphones themselves are excellent. Easily 300$+ value those alone, probably more. I like the VSX headphones a lot better than the Focal Spirits I had for testing. It's going to be interesting to see what the guys over at head-fi.org think of these once they get a chance to test them.

The VSX headphones are also very much unlike all the typical super high-frequency hyped stuff so popular right now. These are much more neutral and mellow and the advertised patent pending whatever sub thingy actually works. Boost some kick at 20Hz and you actually hear the impact and sort of "feel" the low frequency transient better than on other headphones I have available (at this moment the list is HD580, HD600, AKG K701 original Austrian version, K712Pro original, Beyerdynamic 990 pro, Bose QC15, Audiotechnica ATH m50x, iPods and a dozen other cheap consumer things like Koss, Skullcandy etc).

These will probably sell like hotcakes and become a sort of industry standard in a few years, which in itself adds more value as it becomes a reference that people can use to easily send mixes back and forth between studios. The only thing that can possibly hinder this development is reliability.. there's nowhere near enough data to see how these hold up over the years. So far mine have been rock solid but it's only a short time of use, not years. We'll see. Hopefully they'll stand the test of time in terms of abuse.
"Wisdom is wisdom, regardless of the idiot who said it." -an idiot

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Great input bmanic. Just wondering how the headphones woudl translate to other audio devices or are they at their optimum when linked to the software for which they are calibrated?
I guess on the flipside how would 3rd party headphones integrate with the software and would they require calibration similar to Sonarworks.

I appreciate the OP referenced Sonarworks and Abbey Road Studios comes to mind, I guess until the software it RC/Public release the scrutinising will begin.

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...quote from the slate site:
"While most headphones use neodymium drivers, VSX features ultra-HD beryllium drivers that reproduce your audio with incredible precision."
https://stevenslateaudio.com/vsx#technology

Hmm no. Practically all headphones use neodymium magnets in their drivers. If the VSX are not using neodymium alloy magnets I would be amazed. I wanna see pictures of the beryllium bits hehehe.
:hyper: M O N O S Y N T H S F O R E V E R :hyper:

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spunkmuffin wrote: Sun Oct 04, 2020 2:31 pm ...quote from the slate site:
"While most headphones use neodymium drivers, VSX features ultra-HD beryllium drivers that reproduce your audio with incredible precision."
https://stevenslateaudio.com/vsx#technology

Hmm no. Practically all headphones use neodymium magnets in their drivers. If the VSX are not using neodymium alloy magnets I would be amazed. I wanna see pictures of the beryllium bits hehehe.
Looks like there is some misinformation and wrongly written stuff. Steven is talking about the drivers, the headphone speaker membrane.. not the magnets.
"Wisdom is wisdom, regardless of the idiot who said it." -an idiot

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MFXxx wrote: Sun Oct 04, 2020 1:06 pm Great input bmanic. Just wondering how the headphones woudl translate to other audio devices or are they at their optimum when linked to the software for which they are calibrated?
They are definitely at their optimum while using the software as there is some EQ calibration going on (just like with Sonarworks). They do work very well as standalone headphones too. A bit on the warm/dark side (which is something I personally prefer and the reason I don't get along with Beyerdynamic headphones at all).
"Wisdom is wisdom, regardless of the idiot who said it." -an idiot

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bmanic wrote: Sun Oct 04, 2020 2:34 pm
spunkmuffin wrote: Sun Oct 04, 2020 2:31 pm ...quote from the slate site:
"While most headphones use neodymium drivers, VSX features ultra-HD beryllium drivers that reproduce your audio with incredible precision."
https://stevenslateaudio.com/vsx#technology

Hmm no. Practically all headphones use neodymium magnets in their drivers. If the VSX are not using neodymium alloy magnets I would be amazed. I wanna see pictures of the beryllium bits hehehe.
Looks like there is some misinformation and wrongly written stuff. Steven is talking about the drivers, the headphone speaker membrane.. not the magnets.
Yes, the bit made from beryllium will be the diaphragm, which is the dome at the centre of the membrane. Most of the surrounding membrane is likely made from some clear polymer. The term 'driver' usually includes the magnet, pleated surround, diaphragm, coil, former, basket...the lot really. I am nitpicking. :wink:

I am very interested in these. It's the least expensive set of beryllium diaphragm headphones available, which is great. I'd like to know more about the equalisation, and how it's working. Thanks for the review bmanic, I trust your judgement and if they give a better window into the music than the headphones you've mentioned that makes them very attractive.
:hyper: M O N O S Y N T H S F O R E V E R :hyper:

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First impressions from people are starting to appear. Here is one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjqjiP5RwFY

His first impressions actually match mine very closely (including not liking Howie's room, thinking it sounds weird).
"Wisdom is wisdom, regardless of the idiot who said it." -an idiot

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Not available anywhere in Europe :(
More BPM please

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Yeah looks like they sold out almost everywhere.
"Wisdom is wisdom, regardless of the idiot who said it." -an idiot

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I ordered mine from Thomann, sending day will be 12.10. it seems :E
Will be nice addition next to AKG K712Pro.
Soft Knees - Live 12, Diva, Omnisphere, Slate Digital VSX, TDR, Kush Audio, U-He, PA, Valhalla, Fuse, Pulsar, NI, OekSound etc. on Win11Pro R7950X & RME AiO Pro
https://www.youtube.com/@softknees/videos Music & Demoscene

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Music Store says 13/10 now. Thomann NL says "in about a week". Mmm.

Still on the fence tho. Shame i can't demo it anywhere.
More BPM please

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Slate has a "rent to own" option for these (without interest) in US, but I wonder if it's exclusively for US, or if they'll offer something similar in Europe soon-ish..?

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bmanic wrote: Sun Oct 04, 2020 2:37 pm They are definitely at their optimum while using the software as there is some EQ calibration going on (just like with Sonarworks). They do work very well as standalone headphones too. A bit on the warm/dark side (which is something I personally prefer and the reason I don't get along with Beyerdynamic headphones at all).
I have a question : How good is VSX with low frequencies ?
The music i make is all about kicks and the low-end, and Sonarworks is just not precise enough in that department. So i wonder if Slate VSX is more precise, especially considering phase/timing/amount of the low frequencies ?
More BPM please

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